


Revelry

by Hanatamago



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Abyss - Freeform, Alcohol, Balthus is not a lightweight but an alcohol enthusiast, Drunken Confessions, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Getting Together, Light Bondage, M/M, Post-Timeskip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:02:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23462146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanatamago/pseuds/Hanatamago
Summary: “Did I distract you?” Yuri smirks. Ten rounds, eleven now, and he hasn’t won a single one. Even when he’s drunk off his ass, he can get a lucky roll or two, but this game’s about reading your opponent, folding when you’ve gotta fold, bluffing when you’ve gotta bluff. He’ll never match Yuri’s eye for tactics, but he’s unusually sloppy tonight. Damn...Balthus drinks a little too much, then says a little too much.
Relationships: Balthazar von Adalbrecht | Balthus von Albrecht/Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc
Comments: 16
Kudos: 119





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the Ashen Wolves server for giving me prompts to let off a little steam with :)

Abyss is coming along. Wartime is tough, but it’s brought them back together. The Professor and the others defend up top, but Abyss still needs a protector. Always has. The people are tough, but someone’s got to play nice with the merchants to keep food coming in on the wagons, someone has to mediate between different gangs, divvy up loot, make sure everyone’s got their fair share. 

‘No honor among thieves’, once said a scholar who’d never gone hungry a day in his life. Someone who’d never been to Abyss, never seen how those rejected by society come together and manage to stay afloat. 

For what it’s worth, they listen to Yuri. Five years of rebuilding after Edelgard’s invasion, and thank the Goddess he’s got something to show for it, because war is coming to Garreg Mach, and he’s not about to go through this bullshit all over again. 

Whatever happens, they’ll manage. Abyss these days is looking pretty sharp. The water under the bridges runs mostly clear, except for a designated sewer pipe deeper into the tunnels. Water from the monastery baths trickles down into one of the cleaner rooms in the left wing. Even if the towels are threadbare and the soaps a little too gritty, his first bath after they hooked up the pipes was nothing short of luxurious. And a little scalding, but Balthus has tuned the fire runes down a bit - clever, that.

After a few raids, some of the mages cleared the monastery library of anything too terribly interesting, so the library is well stocked. The communal kitchen is a little small, but hardly anyone except Yuri can cook worth a damn down here anyhow, so it’s never too crowded. The booze is still a touch too cheap, but every few months, the merchants will stoop to trading them the good stuff for protection on the roads across the border. You’d think Abyssians would be reluctant to put their lives on the line for alcohol, but good, strong ale’s got more purchasing power than you can imagine.

So after a good deal from an Alliance trader, he’s sipped enough mead to make his head light and his heart a little too fuzzy as he throws dice with Balthus. Not for any real odds, just stories from the road and favors down the line, the kind of thing that won’t put him deeper in the hole he’s dug for himself.

* * *

“Did I distract you?” Yuri smirks. Ten rounds, eleven now, and he hasn’t won a single one. Even when he’s drunk off his ass, he can get a lucky roll or two, but this game’s about reading your opponent, folding when you’ve gotta fold, bluffing when you’ve gotta bluff. He’ll never match Yuri’s eye for tactics, but he’s unusually sloppy tonight. Damn...

“Ain’t fuckin’ fair.” Balthus groans, pounding his fist against the shaky wooden crate they’ve repurposed as a table.

“Come now, dice don’t lie, Balthus. You can check if they’re loaded, but you already know they’re not, don’t you?” Yuri kicks his feet up and leans back on the crates he’s piled together into a wooden throne. “Had enough?”

“Can’t win like this, not even the dice, you’re just cheatin’.” Balthus took a long swig from his tankard, draining the rest of his ale. Fuck, his head’s going foggy. No double vision or anything like that, he’s just a little too giddy and his temple’s stuffed with cotton.

“Oh, and how so? Humor me, how am _I_ at fault for your terrible bets?”

“Fuckin’ lookin all pretty and shit.” He grumbled. His brain lags behind his tongue, but even when he starts to catch up to what he’s saying, he can’t seem to clamp his mouth shut.

“Wow Balthus, you drunk enough to think I’m a lady?” Yuri laughs, and it feels like his heart’s gonna shatter with the way he looks at him, cocky but more relaxed than he’s seen him since they met again in the monastery ruins. Rest is history from there. Well, a couple moons of history, nothing much to scoff at.

“Nah…” He rises from his crate, unsteady. Balthus sways for a moment, not confident in his steps in the slightest. When he starts careening, Yuri’s there to catch him.

“You’re wasted.” Yuri helps him lay back down, resting Balthus’s head in his lap. “World starting to spin just yet?”

“Jus’ tipsy.” He lies. Not like Yuri believes him. He stares up into those skeptical lilac eyes. “Mean it, though.”

“That I’m pretty?” Yuri snorts, “Please, you just wanna take my clothes off, yeah?”

“‘Course I do, look at ya, fuckin’ gorgeous.” Balthus barks out a laugh, echoing off the curved tunnel ceilings. “But I wanna do other things tooooo.” Yeah, his words are slurred to shit, but they’re all honest when you make sense of ‘em. Too honest, maybe, but that’s always been his thing.

“Like fuck me?” He rolls his eyes, “Come on, friend, let’s get you to bed.” It’s his vice, honesty. It’s not that he trusts most people farther than he can throw ‘em - but that’s pretty far, he’s got strong enough arms - it’s just that he’s never been good at the lying and the politics, so he gives it to ‘em straight.

“Up we go.” Yuri pulls him up from the crates, staggering back when he settles Balthus’s weight on his shoulder.

“Wanna brush your hair and hold the door for ya,” Balthus mumbles into his ear. “Rub your back and shit, carry your bags at the market.”

“Way heavier than I thought.” Yuri groaned, “Come on, help me out a bit here, yeah?” They stumble away from the crates, wobbling into the tunnel to their quarters. 

“‘M serious.” Balthus sways to the side, pinning Yuri into the faded stone bricks. “Wanna stand next to you as long as I’m still breathing.” He braces himself against the wall on his elbows, bracketing Yuri’s shoulders.

“What, now you’re a hopeless romantic or something?” Yuri doesn’t meet his eyes, but Balthus notices the way he shivers when his breath ghosts over Yuri’s neck. He sees his throat bobbing as he stares up at the ceiling, determined to look elsewhere as he lets out a breathless little laugh. “Heh, didn’t strike you for such a sap, Balthus.”

“Hell yeah!” He laughs. A wave of dizziness crashes over him. He leans in, resting his head on Yuri’s shoulder. “I want to wake up to your cooking in the mornings, hold you at night-” He shuts his eyes, fending off the relentless spinning of the ground below his feet. “Better deal than just dancing around each other like this, yeah?”

It doesn’t work. Yuri’s chest buzzes, he says something Balthus can’t make out. “Balthus?”

“Huh?” Dark spots cloud the edges of his vision, and he just feels so damned heavy… “I’m listenin’..."

“You’re drunk.”

He doesn’t remember anything after that, nothing except falling into a lumpy mattress and smacking his elbow when he tries to stretch out. He sinks into a pillow that smells of jasmine, and he swears to the Goddess he hears Yuri’s soft, easy laughter when he drifts off. Yeah… So, maybe it’s no surprise when his dreams are full of that cocky smirk and featherlight fingers tracing over his scars. Better deal than nothin’.


	2. Chapter 2

“What’s wrong Balthus, cat got your tongue?” 

A hearth crackles in the back, a mix of low coals and dim fire magic - more for light than heat. It’s always too damned cold down here, but right now, his skin is scorching head to toe. Yuri’s gaze lingers on him like a fever he just ain’t sweating out. He’s not sure how he got here, when they slipped into Yuri’s bedroom. He’s not sure if the Goddess stopped watching, or if she decided to throw him one hell of a bone, allowing him so close to divinity. His throat runs dry at the sight of him, so close, so intimate, and still so damn composed, somehow. 

Yuri’s… He’s gorgeous. More than that, but seein’ him like this always runs the words right out of his mind. His shadowy silhouette dances off the wall, flickering in the lamplight. He’s gracefully, leisurely straddling Balthus’s hips, fully clothed to Balthus’s lone breeches. One gloved hand runs along his abs. Another lazily walks down his upper thigh, meandering around like he’s playing coy. He’s smirking - Goddess, he always is. Looks so damn satisfied with himself, and it’s not like he hasn’t got reason to be. 

All sharp eyes and perfect angles, ivory skin glowing under that damned high collar. It’s gotta be soft, even if he’s got his own share of scars and calluses. Jasmine and incense thicken the air. He tastes like honey. Hasn’t kissed him yet, but Balthus just knows Yuri’s gotta taste like the mead he likes so much. He’s alluring - more than that - like a fucking siren, tempting Balthus out to sea. He’s never sailed a day in his damned life, but he’d start, if he could dash himself upon Yuri’s rocks. He’s gotta reach out, fuckin’ kiss him or some shit, _something_. Black iron chains tighten around his wrists, pinning them to the headboard above. 

“Easy there, no touching.” Yuri smirks. “You’ll be good for me, won’t you, Balthus?” Leather-covered fingertips trail down his chest, pausing to dip into the creases above his hips. That look in his eyes… It’s _predatory_.

“Y-yeah…” Balthus swallows. “You got it.” 

“How adorable.” He toys with the thin ties on his pale tunic. Slowly, methodically, he slips them loose, one by one, to bare precious inches of his chest. He pauses about halfway down, eyes roaming over Balthus’s form. Goddess, Yuri knows what he’s doing to him. He’s hard, not like there’d ever be a damn doubt about that. 

Yuri traces him through his breeches, fingers sinfully light against the rough cotton. It’s all Balthus can do not to buck his hips up into the contact, begging for more, more, _more_ than Yuri deigns to give him. Yuri bites his lip, playing up a moan as he grinds down against Balthus. Fuck, he could just _grab_ his hips and grind back - but chains rattle at his wrist as he jolts forward. 

“Eager, are we?” Yuri laughs, finally shrugging out of his tunic. He’s actin’ all aloof, but Balthus can see the spark in his eyes, the little shiver as he thrills at the feel of Balthus underneath him. He carefully bites down on his glove, pulling it off by the index finger all slow and graceful, like he knows Balthus is watching with bated breath. He is. Cocky little shit. He slips off the other glove with his hand, and while Balthus is a bit disappointed he doesn’t play the same act twice, he can’t complain about Yuri’s bare hands on him, tracing over his abs and loosening the laces of his breeches. Balthus raises his hips off the bed, letting Yuri strip off his breeches and underclothes in one wickedly efficient tug.

“Hmm…” Yuri gazes down, an awed little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Like what you see?” Balthus smirks. He’s packin’, and he knows it! If Yuri would let him out of the chains, he could show him a real good time, but it looks like that’s not what’s in the cards for tonight. It’s kinda weird, but Balthus doesn’t really mind. He’ll take whatever Yuri gives him, gladly. And if this is what makes him comfortable, hell, he doesn’t mind being chained up the whole night, long as Yuri brings him something to eat in the morning.

“Could say the same to you, yeah?” Yuri drags a few honey-sweet fingers down his stomach and gives him a teasing, gentle stroke. It’s too soft, far, far too soft. Balthus has half a mind to say something about it, but Yuri shuts him up with a little wink, tying a thin leather strap around the base of his cock. Before he can blink, his lips are halfway down his shaft, and Yuri peeks up at him with a mischievous little glint in his eyes.

“Fu-fuck!” His hips jerk up without his say. He grabs at the chains, not to escape, just to ground himself. Just to try to get some fuckin’ thoughts back in his brain for a minute. Goddess, Balthus just wants to touch, wants to bury his hands in Yuri’s hair, but he can’t. Balthus groans. He’s helpless for him like this. And part of him might be a little too into that.

“Easy,” Yuri pulls off with a cough, nails digging into Balthus’s thighs as he pushes his hips back down onto the blankets. He’s stronger than he looks, but it’s just a reminder. Even like this, Balthus ain’t easy to pin down. That’s hardly the point though. Tonight, Yuri set the rules, and he’s gonna be good for him. He wants to be.

“Yeah…” Balthus pants out, “Yeah, got it.” Yuri presses a few sloppy, open mouthed kisses to his shaft. He’s barely done anything, and yet Balthus feels like his chest is gonna burst open. 

Yuri slowly, teasingly licks around the head of his cock, winking when Balthus’s lips fall open with an airy little gasp, the kind he’s way too tough to be makin’. How he’s so damned confident, even while sucking someone off, Balthus will never know. He bobs down, not all the way, not even half, but he’s flat out mesmerized watching those few inches disappear into his mouth, feeling the heat and velvet of his tongue. Shit… Even now, with his fucking mouth around Balthus’s cock, he’s the boss. Yuri’s calling all the shots.

He can’t remember the last time he was so hard. He’s aching with it, honestly. So much he fucking _whines_ when Yuri pulls away and wipes his mouth on the back of his hand. A bit of lipstick smudges out of his perfectly painted lines. Wrecked as he feels, Balthus counts it as a victory to mess him up a little bit too.

“Got you all to myself.” Yuri chuckles.

“All for you.” Balthus mumbles, “Anything you want.”

“Really now?” He laughs, “And what is it that you want, friend?” Yuri spills a small vial of oil into his palm, glimmering gold in the firelight. His hand slips back around Balthus’s cock. Fuck. Goddess, just… Fuck... 

“Wanna touch you...” He chokes out. It’s hard to form a coherent thought, much less a sentence when Yuri’s touching him like that. But he wants him, and it’s enough to cut through the fog in his mind, just for a few breaths.

Yuri pauses for a second, clearly not expecting the answer he gave, even if it seems like the most obvious thing in the world to Balthus. “You’re sweet.” He shakes his head, smiling in a soft sort of way that’s got all his nerves buzzing. He climbs back atop his hips, breeches and smallclothes forgotten somewhere on the floor, and presses a kiss to his cheekbone. Balthus revels in the feel of his palm, soft against his jaw as Yuri shifts to find his balance. “Behave, and I might let you, once I’ve had my fun.”

He pulls away with a wink, slowly guiding Balthus’s cock against him. His lip quivers for a moment, thighs trembling as he teases Balthus’s cock against that soft, slick ring of muscle. His lips part with a desperate little moan as he sinks down, letting Balthus breach him inch by inch. Goddess, he’s so tight, so fucking sweet. He’s overwhelming in every way, soft as velvet around him. It’s a fight to stay still, to let Yuri take him in slow as he wants, and the silvery gasps spilling from his lips aren’t helping in the slightest. 

Balthus can’t remember how long he was holding the breath he lets out when Yuri finally settles on his hips, taking him in full. His vision goes a little hazy, hazier still when Yuri pulls himself back up, dragging blissfully along his cock before he sinks down again. It’s all he can think, all he can feel - Yuri’s enrapturing eyes half-lidded in pleasure as he takes him over, and over, and over. Balthus gasps out his name, or something that once might have been his name, now mangled in a mindless string of pleas and murmured devotion.

He’s so, so fucking close, and every wave of pleasure rocks through his body twice as hard as it should. Yuri quivers atop him, pace quickening into an errant rhythm of shallow thrusts that have him throwin’ his head back to moan like no one in Abyss can hear them. Balthus just barely manages to keep his eyes open as Yuri comes, tensing up with a choked stutter as he shakily rides out the aftershocks.

“Fuck…” Balthus hears himself murmur. He’s… he’s cute, shuddering around Balthus’s cock like that, lips all red and bitten up, trembling like he’s gonna shatter. He tips forward, bracing himself on Balthus’s chest. “Easy, pal.” Balthus can’t touch him, but if he could, he’d sooth away the sweaty hair sticking to his forehead. If he could, he’d hold him close, quieting the shivers running up his arms. Can’t though, so he’ll do the best he can with soft words, soothing as he can make ‘em while he’s still hard and aching inside him.

“‘Easy, pal’ yourself.” Yuri rests on his chest, smirking sleepily up at him as he rolls his hips, teasing Balthus with the smallest of motions. Balthus curses, grip tight on his chains as Yuri taunts him. “Not done with you just yet.”

* * *

A small thump wakes him, metal on wood.

Someone, Yuri, he presumes, sets a tankard of something herbal next to him on a side table. Smells like… Ginseng tea, maybe? It’s hard to tell, and Balthus isn’t the type to know too much about plants in the first place. Plus, it’s hard to think when the delicious aroma of frying pork and eggs drifts in from Yuri’s tiny kitchenette. It’s just a little pot over a few stone glyphs of fire, anything more would smoke up the tunnels. 

Garlic, onions, and a bunch of toasted spices he can’t name - it’s cheap, plentiful shit that Yuri somehow knows how to make taste like the heavens. It’s like he’s fallen out of one dream, right into another. Before, that other dream, that was just his dick thinking. This part’s his heart thinking, or doing whatever hearts do. Balthus rubs the sleep from his eyes, gulping down a mouthful of warm tea. 

He tries to sit up, but a particularly violent throb in his temples knocks him back onto the couch cushions. He falls cheek-first into a squishy pillow. Jasmine…

Balthus’s throat is sore and dry as the desert, and his head’s still all fogged up the haze of… last night. As he shifts on the couch, he discovers that little dream of his left him, er, _compromised_. Yuri’s not helping, slinking around the kitchen wearing a sinfully loose tunic that bares his shoulders. Shit…

“Sleep well, friend?” Yuri turns towards him, idly giving the pan a few tosses before he leans back against the counter. “Hope I didn’t interrupt anything.” He smirks. Bastard knows.

No lyin’ his way out of this one. Should he be honest? Seems like a bad bet, but…

“How much of last night do you remember?” Yuri turns back to the pot he’s got going, adds in a pile of chopped carrots. Balthus swallows. It’s a loaded question, but Yuri’s not askin’ to catch him in the act. He seems nervous… He’s holding his cards pretty close to his chest. Honesty it is.

“All of it.” Balthus takes a swig of tea. Ginseng. He was right, not that it matters much. It’s lukewarm now, but that’s for the best. He doesn’t trust himself not to spill it or burn his tongue, not when he’s this jittery.

“All of it?” Yuri whistles, “I find that hard to believe. You look like hell, by the way.”

“I remember enough… Know I said some things, got too drunk.” Balthus shoots over a weak smile. “Hey, just been awhile since I drank that much.” All he can do is own up to it, right?

“I don’t believe that either.” Yuri shrugs and puts a lid on the pot, leaving it to simmer for a little while. He steps towards the couch, quietly, bluntly. Balthus expects that. Poor Yuri had to drag him in here the other night, ‘course they’re gonna talk about things. What he doesn’t expect is Yuri settling on the couch, half in his lap and staring right at him, not pissed but… fiery? Yeah, fiery. 

“You know I like all the juicy secrets I can get, yeah? And getting drunk, that’s on you. But what you said last night…” He shakes his head, frown obvious in his voice even if his face is still as a stone. “That isn’t something I would use against you. It’s… It’s not the way I operate. Not with shit like this.”

It’s silent for a moment. Balthus isn’t sure what to say, so he waits, nodding for Yuri to continue.

“Balthus.” Yuri whispers, “This is your out, no strings attached.”

“I gotcha.” Balthus rumbles, speaking in the lowest tones he could manage, “But I’m not takin’ it.” His arm snakes around Yuri’s waist, pulling closer.

For the tiniest instant, Yuri’s eyes widen by a hair. He’s quick to look away, try to reset his poker face, but it doesn’t slip past Balthus. He’s watchin’ pretty carefully, after all.

“You damn fool…” His voice quakes.

“Meant what I said. Still do.” Balthus slowly reaches up, tucks a lock of lilac hair behind his ear. To his surprise, Yuri doesn’t pull away, doesn’t jump at his hand.

“I wouldn’t be good for you. Not that you’re doing so well for yourself, friend.” He sighs, “But the point remains, I can’t…” He pauses, rethinks his words, “I’m not all you think I am.”

“Don’t care… Never fancied shit that was good for me.” Balthus smiles, leans closer. Yuri doesn’t pull away, doesn’t lean back or stop him, but he’s taut as a bowstring, even as Balthus kisses him. Just a quick brush of their lips, but it’s enough to make Yuri tremble in his hands. What’s he got to be so damn nervous about?

“How is this so easy for you?” A weak laugh spills out from his lips when they part. It’s a new tone, one he hasn’t heard before, or not in a while. Disbelief, and a hint of… sadness? “You can’t actually be that naive.”

“What part’s too easy?”

“I _use_ people, Balthus. You know what I do… What I’ve done. How can you possibly want to take up with me, knowing all that?” He’s frustrated, angry almost, like a storm’s swirling in his head. Shitty part is, Balthus knows he’s directing all that anger at himself.

“Now look, I may not always understand ‘em, but you’ve got reasons.” Balthus frowns. He’s gettin’ in his head again. But, ‘again’ implies he ever gets outta it, which is wrong too. “You’re not a villain, Yuri. Everything I’ve seen you do has been for Abyss, yeah? So quit thinkin’ you’re the bad guy just ‘cause you gotta tell a few lies to make it all happen.”

“Balthus…”

“Haven’t led me astray yet, have ya?” He chuckles. “To tell the truth, I guess I’m kinda hopeless without you callin’ the shots, aren’t I?”

“I almost got you killed.” Yuri pinches the bridge of his nose. “Five years ago, how the hell do you not remember that?”

“We’re still here, aren’t we? Life isn’t a certain thing, gotta take a risk every now and again. What I remember is you trusting me to punch my way out of a corner.”

“It was one hell of a gamble.” He huffs, leaning into Balthus’s shoulder. Lilac hair tickles under his chin.

“You’re good with bets.” Balthus takes one of Yuri’s hands in his own. “Put a little faith in me, yeah? You don’t have to do this alone anymore. You’ve got me, whatever ya want us to be, even if it’s just bash bros.”

“ _Just_ bash bros?” Muffled laughter hits his neck, and there’s something all soft and tingly about it, like thin, fluttering wind chimes or glasses clinking together. His hair smells like jasmine. ‘Course it does. “Thought it was a pretty high honor.”

“Damn right it is.”

“Don’t go dying on me, Balthus.” Yuri untangles himself from his lap and pulls back, laying a gentle, chaste kiss on his cheek. “I’m counting on you staying alive, at least until the end of the war.” His smile’s warmer than Balthus thinks he’s ever seen it. Pride swells up in his chest. It’s a little, precious thing, but it’s _Balthus _making him smile like that. Yuri rises to his feet, heading back into the kitchen.__

__“Alright, guess I’ll have to.” Balthus grins. “Till then, you lead, I’ll follow. How’s that sound?” Yuri rolls his eyes, but his blush is telling enough to fill in the words he can’t bring himself to say yet. For the first time in a long time, maybe he’s played his cards just right._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _And they were bash bros!_
> 
> _Oh my god they were bash bros!_

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on Twitter :)  
> [@hanatamagos](https://twitter.com/hanatamagos)


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